So-called local area networks (LANs) have been proliferating to facilitate communication since the 1970s. Certain LANs (e.g., those operating in accordance with IEEE 802.3) have provided enhanced electronic communication through wired media for decades. Since the late 1990s, LANs have expanded into wireless media so that networks may be established without necessitating wire connections between or among various network elements. Such LANs may operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11 (e.g., 802.11(a), (b), (e), (g), etc.) or other wireless network standards.
Although standard LAN protocols, such as Ethernet, may operate at fairly high speeds with inexpensive connection hardware and may bring digital networking to almost any computer, wireless LANs can often achieve the same results more quickly, more easily, and/or at a lower cost. Furthermore, wireless LANs provide increased mobility, flexibility, and spontaneity when setting up a network for two or more devices.
In wireless communication (including wireless LANs), signals are sent from a transmitter to a receiver using electromagnetic waves that emanate from an antenna. These electromagnetic waves may be sent equally in all directions or focused in one or more desired directions. When the electromagnetic waves are focused in a desired direction, the pattern formed by the electromagnetic wave is termed a “beam” or “beam pattern.” Hence, the production and/or application of such electromagnetic beams are typically referred to as “beamforming.”
Beamforming may provide a number of benefits such as greater range and/or coverage per unit of transmitted power, improved resistance to interference, increased immunity to the deleterious effects of multipath transmission signals, and so forth. Beamforming can be achieved through a number of different approaches, including (i) using a finely tuned vector modulator to drive each antenna element to thereby arbitrarily form beam shapes, (ii) by implementing full adaptive beam forming, (iii) by connecting a transmit/receive signal processor to each port of a Butler matrix, and (iv) by connecting at least one transmit/receive signal processor to an electromagnetic lens.
Unfortunately, beamforming is typically constrained by the apparatus and schemes used to achieve it. For example, approaches (i) and (ii) are complex, costly, and/or power intensive. Approach (iii) has limited flexibility, and approach (iv) can be bulky and/or can introduce non-linearity into the electromagnetic signals. Other additional factors can adversely impact the applicability and usability of beamforming in wireless communication systems.
Accordingly, there is a need for apparatuses and/or schemes for improving the viability and versatility of wireless communication and beamforming options therefor.